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A Collaborative Classroom

A Collaborative Classroom
What's ideal when it comes to collaboration in our classrooms? Here's one coveted scenario: several children gathered at a table engaged in a high-level task, discussing, possibly debating an issue, making shared decisions, and designing a product that demonstrates all this deeper learning. As teachers, we'd love to see this right out the gate, but this sort of sophisticated teamwork takes scaffolding. It won't just happen by placing students together with a piece of provocative text or an engaging task. In preparing our students for college and careers, 21st century skills call on us to develop highly collaborative citizens -- it's one of the 4 Cs, after all. So how do we begin this scaffolded journey? Establish Group Agreements Deciding on group norms, or agreements, right at the get go will give each student a voice and provide accountability for all. Accountability is an important factor in group working agreements. Teach Them How to Listen Teach Them the Art of Asking Good Questions

Writer’s Digest - Writing Prompts Write a scene that includes a character speaking a different language, speaking in a thick accent, or otherwise speaking in a way that is unintelligibe to the other characters. (Note: You don't necessarily need to know the language the character is speaking—be creative with it!) Describe a character's reaction to something without explaining what it is. See if your fellow prompt responders can guess what it is. Write a story or a scene about one character playing a prank on another. Writing Prompt: Write a story that involves confusion over homonyms (words that have the same spelling but different meanings) or homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently). For World Storytelling Day, share the best story you've ever heard or told by word of mouth, or have a fictional character recount their favorite story. You're making your way down a cobbled street when a stocky, red-bearded man beckons you into an alley. Consider your handwriting, or a character's handwriting.

Gapminder: Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact based world view. - Gapminder.org 25 Things You Should Know About Word Choice 1. A Series Of Word Choices Here’s why this matters: because both writing and storytelling comprise, at the most basic level, a series of word choices. 2. Words are like LEGO bricks: the more we add, the more we define the reality of our playset. 3. You know that game — “Oh, you’re cold, colder, colder — oh! 4. Think of it like a different game, perhaps: you’re trying to say as much as possible with as few words as you can muster. 5. Finding the perfect word is as likely as finding a downy-soft unicorn with a pearlescent horn riding a skateboard made from the bones of your many enemies. 6. For every right word, you have an infinity of wrong ones. 7. You might use a word that either oversteps or fails to meet the idea you hope to present. 8. Remember how I said earlier that words are like LEGO, blah blah blah help define reality yadda yadda poop noise? 9. Incorrect word choice means you’re using the wrong damn word. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Am. 15. No, really. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

mitt ibland oss | digitala spel om mänskliga rättigheter 10 Rules for Students and Teachers (and Life) by John Cage and Sister Corita Kent by Maria Popova “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail, there’s only make.” Buried in various corners of the web is a beautiful and poignant list titled Some Rules for Students and Teachers, attributed to John Cage, who passed away twenty years ago this week. The list, which can be found in Sister Corita’s Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit (public library), touches on a number of previously discussed themes and materials, including Bertrand Russell’s 10 commandments of teaching, the importance of embracing uncertainty, the pivotal role of work ethic, the intricate osmosis between intuition and intellect, and the crucial habit of being fully awake to everything. RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.RULE TWO: General duties of a student — pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher — pull everything out of your students. Donating = Loving

Book Club Buddy - Where book readers and authors connect and book clubs thrive! Online Book Club for Readers » Overclock Your Reading Speed This is a guest post from Kim Roach of The Optimized Life. In today’s Information Age, reading is now a prerequisite for success in life. In fact, many presidents, including Kennedy, have required their staff to take speed reading lessons. Brian Tracy, a best-selling author, points out that just 1 hour per day of reading will make you an international expert in your chosen field within 7 years. If you’re looking to increase your learning rate while decreasing your effort, speed reading is a method you should consider studying. The Brain’s Power Speed reading actually began as part of military training to identify enemy war planes. But what was interesting about this method of military training is that it began to unveil the idea that the brain could process more things visually than was previously thought. What many people don’t realize is that the mind becomes bored when it’s not constantly stimulated. 1. In fact, I would suggest skipping parts of a book that you don’t need. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Reading Your Textbooks Effectively and Efficiently More details Skip to main content Dartmouth College Academic Skills Center Quick Links Home > Assess your Learning Style > Active Reading: Comprehension and Rate Many college students discover that there is significantly more to read in college than there was in high school. Read every word.One reading is sufficient.Don't skip passages.Machines improve speed.A faster rate means less comprehension. Handouts Reading Myths: Active Reading Strategies: Where to Read: The Reading Environment (28K Word) Videos Reading Improvement Video (10:48 Minutes) Reading Improvement Video with Captions (10:48 minutes) Learning Links A Classic Method for Studying Texts: SQ3R - Dartmouth College Active Reading Strategies – Princeton University Rapid Reading – Cornell University Concept Mapping – Cornell University Guide to Reading Primary Sources – University of Pennsylvania Miniversity Course Improving Reading Speed and Comprehension Speed Reading Contact Collis Miniversity for more information. Contact Us

Review Redux: Introducing Literary Criticism Through Reception Moments ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. More Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. More Teacher Resources by Grade Your students can save their work with Student Interactives. More Home › Classroom Resources › Lesson Plans Lesson Plan Overview From Theory to Practice Using Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, this lesson introduces high school students to the idea that literary works do not contain fixed meaning but are open to interpretation. back to top Sullivan, P. (2002). Literary works do not contain a single "correct" meaning.

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